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Patsy Kensit

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Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit in France (1991).
Born
Patricia Jude Frances Kensit
Years active1972-present
Spouse(s)Dan Donovan (div)
Jim Kerr (div), one child James
Liam Gallagher (div), one child Lennon

Patricia Jude Frances Kensit (born 4 March, 1968 in Hounslow, Middlesex) is an English actress and singer, and is also well-known for her three celebrity marriages.

Career

Aged four, Kensit appeared in a television advert for Birds Eye frozen peas. In 1972 she had her first role in a movie "For The Love Of Ada". Her next film role was two years later in The Great Gatsby starring with Mia Farrow - who she would later appear as in the 1995 biopic Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story.

A pupil at the Italia Conti Academy stage school, Kensit's first starring roles were in British children's television programmes such as The Adventures of Pollyanna (1982) and Luna. She also appeared as Estella in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations in 1981.

Rise to fame

She started to come to fame in 1985, leading a dual career as the lead singer of the band Eighth Wonder and an actress. Eighth Wonder had two Top 40 singles ("I'm Not Scared" and "Cross My Heart") and appearing on Top of the Pops, while Kensit also starred as Eppie in an adaptation of Silas Marner, with Ben Kingsley. At the time, Kensit at the height of her fame infamously stated: "All I want is to be more famous than anything or anyone".

In 1986, she won the lead female role in the film version of Absolute Beginners, based on the book by Colin MacInnes. In 1988, Eighth Wonder had their fourth top-10 hit with "I'm Not Scared", which was produced by the Pet Shop Boys. Although the band's success quickly waned, the song appeared in the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, in which Kensit now focusing solely on being an actress played Rika van den Haas, a South African consulate secretary with whom cop Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love.

Following Lethal Weapon, she gave what many observers considered her best performance in 1991's little-seen Twenty-One.[1] Of her role, Variety magazine wrote, "Fans of Kensit get plenty of her; her lovely face and form are always the center of attention. The cool control with which she executes the role is admirable."[2]

In 1995 Kensit starred in Angels & Insects, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Rylance, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design and in which she complied with director Philip Haas' request to bleach her pubic hair. Kensit's last major lead film role was in the Newcastle-based The One and Only, which failed to get wide distribution. Kensit auditioned for the part of Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, but lost out to Kate Mulgrew.[citation needed]

By now Patsy Kensit's private life had brought her to as much attention as her acting or singing, as the tabloid newspapers detailed the break down of her marriage to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr and her romance with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. Her career stalled as she focused on her marriage, which as it headed towards divorce, led to the resumption of her acting career.

Return to fame

In 2004 Kensit joined the cast of British soap opera Emmerdale, playing the character Sadie King, and also regularly featured in the third series of Channel 4's Bo Selecta and its 2005 spin-off series A Bear's Tail. Kensits success as the soap super-bitch and in a popular comedy brought her back to the attention of the British public.

In September and October 2005 she appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, progressing through to Play Your Cards Right before getting knocked out by Carol Vorderman, the eventual winner of the series. Kensit was a special guest host on The Friday Night Project on 23 June 2006 with band Placebo. She appeared as The Grand High Witch of all the World at the Children's Party at the Palace in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006. She also became the voice of online gambling website 32red.com[3].

Kensit left Emmerdale in September 2006, stating the commute to Yorkshire and the resultant time away from her sons was too stressful. As part of a dramatic week of episodes which coincided with Jeff Hordley's exit from the show. Hordley's character Cain Dingle and Sadie hatched an elaborate kidnap plan involving Tom King - they set up the transfer of £2 million from the Kings to Cain in order for Tom to be released, however Cain double crossed Sadie. Her last appearance was at an airstrip watching Cain fly away, leaving her penniless and alone.

Kensit is presently a member of the Holby City cast, playing nurse Faye Morton. She was due to begin filming on Holby City in August 2006, however a delay with this meant she began filming in October and was on-screen from 30 January, 2007[4].

Personal life

Kensit's first tabloid published relationship was with Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp. At the time she was 15, he was 24.

Kensit has been married three times, and all her husbands have been musicians. In 1988 she married Dan Donovan of band Big Audio Dynamite. In 1992 she married Jim Kerr, lead singer of Simple Minds. During her second marriage she gave birth to her first child, James. In 1997 she married Liam Gallagher from Oasis. Kensit and Gallagher had a son, Lennon, named after John Lennon. They divorced in 2000, and Kensit later claimed that she had cried every day of the marriage[5]

After her marriage to Gallagher ended in divorce, Kensit spoke openly about her breast augmentation, which took her bust measurement from a 32B to a 35C. She has three tattoos: on her back; above the blade of her left foot (Gaelic words); and on her ankle [6]- she changed the tattoo of her ex-husband's name from Liam to the name of their son, Lennon. She loves football and supports Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur.

After tabloid reported relationships with Calum Best, Matt Holbrook, and in 2005 with Jean-Christophe Novelli; Kensit began dating rap artist and beatboxer Killa Kela[7]. They split up shortly after a year, Patsy claiming that she didn't see a future with Killa. A source said "She has strong feelings for him but doesn't see him as part of her life anymore. She decided to finish it before it got any more serious, Patsy is a mum of two while Killa is very much a young guy who isn't ready to take on a family like Patsy's." [8]

Filmography

Limited partial filmography

References

  1. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/patsy-kensit?cat=entertainment
  2. ^ http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_review&reviewid=VE1117795940&categoryid=31
  3. ^ http://www.32red.com/file/4481fb7b4d348c40db4a9f3cfb06e873/patsy-kensit.html
  4. ^ http://entertainment.excite.co.uk/news/soaps/26170
  5. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=my-liam-misery%26method=full%26objectid=18549158%26siteid=94762-name_page.html
  6. ^ http://www.tattoos-by-design.co.uk/Celebrities/celebrities.asp?celeb_id=51
  7. ^ startrip.tv, 5 September 2006
  8. ^ Digital Spy, 9 August 2007
  9. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112405/
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